Boise State’s first-round NCAA opponent has a loaded resume. What to know about Memphis
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March Madness for Boise State
Mountain West champion Boise State is a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos open play against Memphis in Portland.
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Boise State’s first-round NCAA opponent has a loaded resume. What to know about Memphis
Defense saves the day as Boise State claims first Mountain West Tournament title
The Boise State men’s basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014-15.
Boise State landed in the West Region of the bracket, where Gonzaga is the No. 1 seed. The Broncos earned a No. 8 seed, and they’ll open the tournament against No. 9 Memphis at 11:45 a.m. MT on Thursday (TNT) in Portland.
The Broncos (27-7) — fresh off winning their first Mountain West Tournament championship in program history on Saturday — claimed their first outright regular-season Mountain West title this year and set a program record for most wins in a season.
The last time Boise State and Memphis met, the Tigers eliminated the Broncos 59-56 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NIT Tournament in Denton, Texas. Memphis limited Boise State to 37.7% shooting from the floor and 29.2% from 3-point range. Memphis went on to win the NIT championship.
Memphis went through a 4-8 stretch earlier this season but is 12-2 since.
“Holy cow are they athletic,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “They get after you defensively, we know that from last year. They’ve got a lot of those guys (back) that we played last year. They were a really, really good team when we played them, and they’re better now.
“They went through a little bit of a rough stretch early and solved a lot of problems and now they’re playing great basketball.”
Here’s a look at the Memphis Tigers:
Memphis
Head coach: Former NBA star Penny Hardaway is in his third season since taking over at his alma mater.
Record: 21-10, 13-5 in the American Athletic Conference.
Conference finish: Memphis finished third in the conference in the regular season and fell to Houston 71-53 in the AAC Tournament championship game.
NCAA Tournament resume: The Tigers beat Houston twice during the regular season. Houston was ranked No. 6 in the country when Memphis went on the road and beat the Cougars 69-59. The Tigers also knocked off SMU (23-8) in the semifinals of the AAC Tournament. Memphis owns wins over ACC Tournament champion Virginia Tech (23-12), Alabama (19-13) and Saint Louis (23-11). Houston is a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament; Alabama is a No. 6 seed; Virginia Tech is a No. 11 seed.
Players to watch: The Tigers have five players averaging at least 10 points a game, and their sixth-leading scorer, senior Tyler Harris, is contributing 9.2 points a night. Jalen Duren — a 6-foot-11, 250-pound freshman who is a potential top-five pick in the NBA Draft — leads the team with 12.2 points and eight rebounds a night. Deandre Williams, a 6-9 senior forward, is averaging 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds a contest, and Virginia Tech transfer Landers Nolley II (6-7, 208) is adding 10.2 points a night.
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 4:32 PM.
